Huang Li suddenly turned his head, interrupting Duke Jing's thoughts, "Mr. Jing, I think we can enter the city."

Wang Guangxing hurriedly said: "Your Highness, who is rich in gold, would be better off waiting for the fighting in the city to completely stop and searching and killing all the remaining enemies before entering the city."

Huang Li looked at the sky, smiled, and stopped insisting.

It wasn't until daybreak that Huang Li and Wang Guangxing entered the city under the protection of their own soldiers.

The prisoners who were the vanguard and pretended to attack the city were still cleaning the battlefield, pulling carloads of corpses out of the city. They had all stripped off their armor, which looked particularly miserable.

Nearly 7,000 banned Eight Banners soldiers, except for less than 50 wounded soldiers and prisoners, were all killed by the Ming army. Huang Li didn't know if any of them surrendered and were killed, and he didn't want to ask about it in detail.

After a fierce battle, few buildings in the city were damaged, which made Huang Li feel relieved.

It is not yet possible to notify the forcibly evicted people to return home. There is still Huguang Green Camp to deal with. Of course, it will not take too long. Huang Li also distributed two taels of silver to each family as consolation payment.

It’s not about having more money, nor will we force them to move to eastern Sichuan. It’s just about leaving a good reputation, letting the people know how good the Ming army is, and have expectations in their hearts, so that they can make a comeback next time.

So far, more than 100,000 people from all over Huguang have volunteered to go to eastern Sichuan. The Government Affairs Office of the Prime Minister is afraid that it will be so busy that it can’t arrange all of them.

Hunan, in particular, has a denser population than Hubei. According to the report sent by Ta Tianbao's messenger, the number of soldiers recruited alone has reached nearly 30,000.

"No wonder Zeng Guofan was defeated many times, but he was still able to recover quickly, and finally relied on the Hunan Army to defeat the Taiping Army. It turns out that Hunan's population and resources have such a profound foundation."

While Huang Li was surprised, he also had a deeper understanding of Hunan's strategic position. Although it is not the time yet, it will take about half a year to digest the results of the battle across Hunan.

By that time, there will really be almost 100,000 troops, able to segregate one side in a relatively stable manner, and then determine the direction of the outward assault.

Concentrating troops in one corner can maximize the advantages of internal operations.

With the advantage of the navy, the Qing government wanted to launch an encirclement and suppression campaign. It had to dispatch forces similar to those of the Ming army in the three directions of north, south and west to ensure that the Ming army would not be defeated one by one again.

Could the Qing government mobilize 200,000 to 300,000 troops? Huang Li thought it was possible, but there would be considerable difficulties.

The most likely possibility is to work step by step, slowly compress from three sides, and then strike with force within a fairly small range.

This will be a relatively long process, and confrontation or tug-of-war will become the main mode. But in terms of time, it will be beneficial to the Ming army.

People in eastern and western Sichuan need to be resettled, farmed and managed, minerals need to be mined, and the manufacturing of new weapons also takes time.

However, the Ming army could only become stronger and stronger. Under Huang Li's guidance, it changed the mode of war and made the Qing army more deeply aware that "the times have changed."

That's right, just "the times have changed" was enough to make Huang Li confident. After going through the most difficult period, he could compete with the Qing court and even win.

"Your Highness." Yuan Dongbao came in and reported with a smile: "The bodies of Mulima and Tuhai were found by the prisoners, but Tuhai's head was beaten into a rotten watermelon, and they can only be distinguished by their clothes and armor."
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Huang Li smiled and chinned his head, and said: "One of them is fine. Go and summon Wang Jialu from the Military Intelligence Department."

Although he could win the Huguang Green Camp in a fight, Huang Li wanted to win without a fight.

The destruction of the Ban Banners was a wake-up call for Huguang Green Camp and was extremely shocking.

As for Hu Maozhen's family members, who also fell into the hands of the Ming army, Huang Li thinks the possibility is not very high whether they will still work for the Qing court.

But Hu Maozhen will face some difficulties anyway. He was promoted to admiral of Huguang not long ago, I am afraid that he will not be able to fully control the troops.

Of course, this is also a test for Hu Maozhen. If Huang Li is not optimistic about his ability, he will not be reused in the future.

"Your Highness, the soldiers are all talking about how sharp the weapon is. Whether it is a street fight in the city or a blockade at the city gate, even the Tatars wearing heavy armor will be killed immediately."

Yuan Dongbao placed the seizures from Mulima and Tuhai on the table while excitedly talking about what he saw and heard.

Huang Li smiled and said: "There are many advantages to carrying a gun, and it is the first time to use it, so it is inevitably admirable. But its shortcomings are also obvious, and it needs to be continuously improved or replaced with more powerful weapons."<

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The effect of using a gun to shoot shotgun shells in a relatively narrow area is naturally very effective. It is equivalent to the lead bullet of a heavy matchlock gun, and its lethality is naturally not to mention.

"The guns sent to Shuixi should have gone to Liu Xiang's place, right?" Huang Li suddenly remembered the matter he had arranged and became a little distracted.

………………

Hu Maozhen was on the way when he suddenly saw two people escorted by sentries. Because they claimed to be Hu Maozhen's sons and escaped from Wuchang, Hu Wenliang and Wang Jialu were not treated harshly.

When he saw his son, Hu Maozhen was overjoyed, but he also realized that the matter was fishy. He immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and asked his son the whole story in a quiet place.

"Father, the whole family is fine." Hu Wenliang said respectfully, "Thanks to His Highness Prince Ding for his kindness."

Hu Maozhen felt relieved, but then he glared at Wang Jialu, pressed his knife on his waist, and said sternly: "Are you a lobbyist sent here to use your family members to blackmail someone into surrendering?"

Wang Jialu smiled faintly, raised his chest and raised his head. He still looked like a servant, and there was no trace of fear on his young face.

"Master Hu, His Highness is optimistic about your talents and will give you a chance to repent and make a new start. Don't make a mistake!" Wang Jialu said calmly: "His Highness also asked someone to bring something. Please take a look at it before Master Hu."

Make a decision."

As he spoke, he took off the baggage on his back, took out a wooden box from it, took a step back, and stretched out his hand to signal Hu Maozhen to open it.

Hu Maozhen hesitated, not because he was afraid. The soldiers were right next to him, and he also boasted of his good skills.

"Father, inside is Mulima's head." Hu Wenliang smiled bitterly and said: "The Eight Banners of the Forbidden Banners have all been annihilated by His Highness in Mianyang, and no one has escaped the net."

Hu Maozhen was shocked and his eyes widened in disbelief.

The captain of the guard frowned, stepped forward to open the lid of the box, and took a closer look. He couldn't help but sucked in a breath of air, looked at Hu Maozhen and said in a low voice: "My lord, it is indeed General Jingxi."

Hu Maozhen just glanced at it and then looked away. His face was gloomy, but his heart was full of emotions, ups and downs.

No matter how much resentment there is against the Eight Banners, the coercion of the Eight Banners soldiers has never dissipated. To put it bluntly, the Eight Banners are not only war supervisors, but their bravery is also the backbone of the Green Camp soldiers.

But in just one night, all the Ming troops were wiped out. How could Hu Maozhen not be chilled and horrified?

"The third prince has led his army to kill two governors, two admirals, and more than a dozen general soldiers; there are also General Fu Kachan of Xi'an, and Du Min, the commander-in-chief. Now, the Eight Banners led by Mulima and Tuhai,

This fighting power is so amazing, it is simply shocking..."

The captain of the guard swallowed dryly, a chill of fear filling his body. Then he looked at Wang Jialu, who looked calm, and he couldn't help but smile in a flattering manner.

The terrifying Ming army is not far ahead, and may be heading this way. The purpose of the Ming army's envoys is also obvious, which is to persuade them to surrender.

My family members are also in Wuchang, and life and death depend only on their thoughts, so I am so stubborn!

Hu Maozhen was promoted from the Ningxia General Army to the Admiral of Huguang. The soldiers he brought were all close confidants, equivalent to the servants of the Ming Dynasty generals, and their loyalty was unquestionable.

However, as Huang Li expected, Hu Maozhen's tenure was still short, and he still had insufficient control over the Huguang Green Camp that he had cobbled together.

"Yes, I..." Hu Maozhen cupped his hands towards Wang Jialu and said with a wry smile: "Your Highness is so kind that you will be flattered by your sins. How dare you not repay the favor anyway and make meritorious deeds? It's just that there are many green camps in Huguang, and people's hearts are unpredictable."

Wang Jialu smiled and nodded, and said: "His Royal Highness has already expected it, and specially gave Mr. Hu two methods. The first is to dispatch those traitors who are loyal to the Qing Dynasty to continue moving forward. Our army has made arrangements to annihilate them."

"The second is to hold a Hongmen Banquet, summon the generals to one place, and announce that they will return to the Ming Dynasty anyway. The stubborn ones will be killed on the spot, and then their troops will be collected..."

Hu Maozhen pondered for a long time, looked at the expectant eyes of the captain of the soldiers, narrowed his eyes, and said in a cold and stern tone: "Please rest assured, Your Highness will take care of everything without you taking action."

Using the help of the Ming army to eradicate dissidents, or hardcore traitors, is certainly safe, but it will make His Highness despise him and damage his own ability. It will probably be very difficult to reuse him in the future.

Although the latter plan is somewhat risky, the rewards of success are quite attractive.

What's more, the Ming army attacked the city and conquered the territory across Huguang, which had caused confusion and disorganization among the soldiers of the Huguang Green Camp. If the news of the annihilation of the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade was made public, under the shock, not many would dare to resist.

I had just learned that the Forbidden Eight Banners had been destroyed. When I saw Mulima's head, I was very frightened. I wanted to lead my army to escape and did not dare to fight the Ming army. The reaction of others should be the same.

Hu Maozhen had already made up his mind. He pointed and asked the captain of the soldiers to put away the box containing the heads, and immediately summoned people to start arranging it.

………………

The variables of the Huguang war situation finally became clear as Hu Maozhen led his troops to fight anyway.

The Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade were destroyed and the Huguang Green Camp surrendered. The only organic Qing army left was the Ganshan Green Camp and the Henan Green Camp garrisoned in Yuan'an, with more than 20,000 troops.

From the time of the attack on Huguang to now, only about ten days have passed, and the ones who have fought the smoothest and most fiercely are Ta Tianbao and Ma Tengyun.

Because they had no worries, they roamed across Hunan, robbing ships, food, materials, people, money, and recruiting troops. The number of people increased from more than 10,000 to more than 40,000.
Chapter completed!